The Sibling Bond
by aceattorneyfan
Summary: Daryan and his older sister Ava have been close their whole lives. But Daryan's decisions leading up to and after Turnabout Serenade will change their sibling bond and relationship forever. Mini-fic tie-in to Love is Like Atroquinine.
1. Chapter 1

The Sibling Bond  
>Chapter 1<p>

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters and cases from Ace Attorney. All credits go to Capcom, they own the rights to everything. This mini-fic is my own creation, tying in to my multi-chapter fic Love is Like Atroquinine (known as LILA by my followers and myself). Ava is my OC, created for LILA.

I've only had this idea for a week or so. I thought it would be an interesting backstory since I personally think there is more to everything in Turnabout Serenade. As much as I want to believe Daryan was being entirely selfless, I believe there is another reason that he did what he did (not saying what happens in Turnabout Serenade just to be safe, because I don't want to be getting messages from people saying I spoiled the case for them).

Reviewing is what keeps me motivated. Review if you love it, review if you hate it. If you love it, tell me what I'm doing right. If you hate it, then tell me where I can improve. Either way, I want and need to hear from people about this and/or Love is Like Atroquinine so I can keep going strong.

Ava texted her brother to find out if his return flight made it in safely. She was sitting in the passenger pick up parking lot. Daryan was due back from Europe, and his flight was landing any minute now. Five minutes later, her phone beeped with an incoming message. Daryan answered that he was in the terminal picking up his suitcase. He would be out in 10 minutes, granted that he didn't get stopped for autographs by fangirls again.

Ava emitted a chime-like laugh at the thought of her brother getting surrounded by a hoard of screaming fangirls. It was amazing the success the Gavinner's had had over the past seven years, and their status as rock icons only continued to grow.

Ava was glad her brother had managed to stay grounded throughout the whole experience. Back when Daryan and Klavier first formed the band, she would admit that he got a little full of himself, which was to be expected. She would have been surprised if he hadn't developed a cocky attitude once the band took off. But he certainly matured as he grew older, and at 25, he had a good head on his shoulders. He knew right from wrong and was passionate about his law enforcement job. Like the other members of the Gavinner's, Daryan was determined the help rid the world of crime, one wrongdoer at a time.

Ava listened to the radio while she waited for Daryan to find her car, and right then the latest Gavinner's single, Guilty Love, came on. Guilty Love was one of Ava's favorite songs. She turned the music up and listened to her brother skillfully play the guitar and sing along with Klavier Gavin, the lead vocalist. She hummed along with the melody. She rarely sang out loud, considering she was rather tone-deaf. It made the fact at how musically adept Daryan was more ironic.

People often wondered how they were even related. They looked nothing like either other, neither of them looked like either of their parents, and they were quite opposite of each other personality and goal-orientation wise.

Daryan had straight as a pin, black as night hair that he styled in a peculiar manner. Everyone who came across her brother compared him to a shark, since he wore an ocean blue jacket wherever he went. Ava had chestnut brown, almost dirty-blonde hair, that was incredibly wavy, and some days downright curly. Daryan was well over six feet tall, and Ava barely capped off at five feet eight inches. She was barely tall enough to make it in her line of work. Typically models would be over five feet ten inches, but she squeaked by as 'The Midget Model', as her friends affectionately called her. While Daryan tended to dress in a rather eccentric manner, keeping with the image of the band, Ava tended to dress rather subdued and conservatively when she wasn't working. She occasionally stepped it up a notch and went out looking stylish and put together, but most of the time she elected comfort over image. Daryan tended to be mild-mannered a lot of the time, but he was known to have a temper when something or someone angered. He even scared his sister sometimes when he got angry and went off on a rant. Ava was mild-mannered all the time. Daryan probably couldn't think of a single instance where his sister actually had an outburst. While Daryan was never an excellent student, Ava graduated from college with honors with a degree in psychology. Ava lasted a year in the profession before an agent discovered her and whisked her away to San Francisco to begin a career in modeling with the occasional acting job. Daryan, being used to performing on stage in front of thousands of fans, was very comfortable in social settings, whereas Ava preferred more quiet endeavors than over-the-top rock star parties that the Gavinner's often threw.

The siblings couldn't be more unlike each other, but they also couldn't be closer. Neither of the pair talked to their mother and father much. Both their parents were professors at Harvard, and had wanted the children to follow in their footsteps and earn college degrees from an Ivy League school. But Daryan started the band with Klavier right after he graduated high school, and never set foot at a college. Ava graduated, but was doing absolutely nothing with her degree. It was simply a wall decoration in her San Francisco apartment. Both of their parents consistently vocalized their disappointment of their children's choices in life, and were always encouraging them to 'do something better with their lives.' While they did support Daryan's ambitions with the Gavinner's and Ava's modeling career, if it had been up to Joseph and Stephanie Crescend, both of their children would be working towards their Master's degrees and becoming partners at a practice by now.

Daryan knocked on the passenger window of Ava's sedan. She met his eye, then reached down on the side to pop the trunk. Daryan gave her a thumbs up and stowed his luggage before joining his older sister. She leaned over to hug her little brother and gave his an extra long squeeze. Daryan had been in Europe touring for two months now, and she hadn't seem him since before he left. They talked on the phone several times a week, but she missed her brother's company. He was one of her best friends. She had her own friends that she met from college and through modeling, but she wasn't as close to anyone as she was to her brother.

"So how was the tour? Everything went well I assume?" Daryan nodded as they pulled onto the highway, away from Los Angeles International Airport. "Yeah, it was fine. Sold out every single show. Klavier and I worked on a new single while we were over there. We'll probably start shooting the video for it soon. You want to work on another one?" Ava nodded. "Sure. Things have been pretty slow for me lately, and I could use the money. Any chance you could give me a sneak peek at the new song?" Daryan shook his head. "Sorry, Ava. Klavier swore me to secrecy about it until we get into the studio this week. But trust me, it's gonna freaking rock!" Daryan broke into an air guitar solo and Ava laughed.

A half hour later they arrived at Daryan's penthouse apartment in Beverly Hills. The parking lot attendants took Daryan's luggage up for him and the valet parked Ava's car for her. They walked up to the lobby and took the elevator to Daryan's apartment. Ava and Daryan sat down in the living room and caught each other up to what they had been up to the past two months. Daryan told her about the latest exploits him and the other rockers got up to over in Europe, and Ava told him about her latest modeling jobs and her newest relationship. She just started dating an old college friend, Alexander.

Daryan remembered him. It had been several years since he had seen the guy, and made Ava promised that she would bring him around so Daryan could give his brother seal of approval.

He was very protective of his older sister. He had watched her get her heart broken a couple times before and was cautious of who she dated. Most of the time she had decent taste in men, but would occasionally dig up someone who Daryan wasn't thrilled about, and would tell Ava when he thought that.

He even had to literally protect his sister once from a boyfriend that got violent when she tried to break up with him. The boyfriend came by her house late at night and engaged her in a screaming match about the break-up. She called Daryan when the boyfriend got there and he rushed up north to make sure his sister was alright. Ava had manged to get the guy to leave, but he came back a couple hours later for another round of shouting. The second time he came back, he was very drunk and even more violent than the first time he was there. The boyfriend actually gave Daryan a black eye from a sucker punch when Daryan tried to get the guy out of Ava's apartment. That was when she started telling him about any new relationships so he could give her his approval or disproval. She valued his opinion about everything, because if he didn't approve of someone or something, then she trusted his judgement and listened to him.

Daryan, on the other hand, being a rock icon and notorious womanizer, rarely had an actual relationship with a woman. Most of the time, he entertained himself with groupies who followed the band from show to show up and down the West Coast. Ava disproved of her brother's lack of any steady relationship, but it was his life, and also his loss. She sometimes prodded and encouraged him to try and find a reliable girlfriend, but he kept jokingly putting her off, saying "Eh, maybe once the band slows down." She would roll her eyes and counter with "At the rate you guys are going, you'll be big for another ten years, if not longer." That was one of their running jokes.

Daryan gave Ava the details of the video shoot that would be starting in several days. He told her what studio it would be at, and what time they would need her. Ava often appeared in music videos for the Gavinner's. It was actually one of her more steady modeling jobs. She would be a backup dancer in the videos, occasionally even at shows when she was free and they needed someone.

Ava was lucky that they were able to help each other out with their respective jobs more often than not. Ava wasn't a top model yet, but making appearances with the Gavinner's frequently was improving her star quality and gaining her notoriety in the acting and modeling world. On the flip side, Ava was the bands model/dancer of choice whenever they were doing music videos or promotional shoots for whatever single they were debuting at the time. So they always had an easy first pick when they were looking for actresses.

The siblings chatted for another hour before Daryan called to order take-out from their favorite restaurant. Ava more often than not avoided take-out, needing to constantly watch her figure, but whenever her and her brother got together, she would splurge and get whatever she wanted. The delivery guy on the other line said the pizza would take about 30 minutes.

Daryan and Ava's parents took them to the same pizza place every Saturday night when they were little. The parlor boasted the ability to make a wide range of custom pizzas, and it also had a play-place for kids. Daryan and Ava looked forward to playing in the ball pit and climbing through the indoor jungle gym every week, and they'd count down the days until they got to go back. They stopped going when they got too big for the play area. But once they got older and started living on their own, it became a sibling tradition to always eat from that same place.

It was one of the happier memories from their childhood.

As soon as Ava and Daryan began high school, their parents became relentless about pushing their studies and pushing them towards college. It became mentally exhausting because of the long hours their parents forced them to study each day. Ava didn't have many problems in school, but Daryan struggled with math, and that was where his temper started to occur more frequently, because math was the subject their parents pushed the most. He had to hide his guitar playing a lot, because their parents didn't approve of his preference to musical activities, such as practicing with Klavier at his house. By Daryan's junior year of high school, he was more focused on his guitar skills and starting a band with Klavier. He continued with his studies enough to keep his parents off his case and unsuspecting of what he was really up to most of the time. Ava was privy to her brother's true ambitions, but kept it between them. Daryan asked Ava not to rat him out to their parents, and she gave him her word.

The Crescend's forced Ava to apply to over a dozen colleges, and did the same to Daryan once he graduated. Ava got accepted to every college she applied to, and eventually selected Stanford. Daryan actually went behind his parents back, never responded to any of the acceptance letters he received, and went on a month long trip with Klavier. He told his parents that they were scouring college campuses, but were actually going across the West Coast to find a bassist, drummer, and another guitarist. When they came back, Daryan broke the news to his parents that he wasn't going to college and was going to tour with the Gavinner's instead. His parents were shocked and disgusted that their son turned his back on everything that they put toward his education to throw it away on some 'adolescent rock star fantasy'. They refused to speak to him for over a year and basically disinherited him.

Ava was his only connection to the family, and his biggest source of support. She encouraged him no matter what he did. During her summer vacations, Ava would travel around the country to see him play all kinds of venues. She was his rock during the whirlwind that was the first few years of the Gavinner's success. They relied on each other so much, it only solidified their sibling bond as they grew older and matured even more.

Once the pizza arrived, they dug into the greasy mess of cheese and dough and reminisced about all the times they had playing at the pizza place. They both laughed at remembering the fights in the ball pits, racing around the jungle gym, and playing skee-ball with tokens their parents bought. Just being young and having fun before academics became their forced number one priority.

Ava glanced at her watch and saw it was pushing three thirty in the afternoon. She had to do two miles on the treadmill and thirty minutes of yoga before she went to bed. And that was after she drove home to San Francisco, which was about five hours away. Normally Daryan would just leave a car at the airport so he could drive himself home when he returned, but since he was gone for over two months, Ava had seen him off to the airport and picked him up. Daryan told her it wasn't necessary for her to drive up all that way and get him, but she insisted. She wanted to see him. Phone calls only went so far when you were separated for a long period of time.

Daryan walked his sister down to the parking lot and motioned for the valet to retrieve her sedan. While they were waiting, Ava promised to see him later on that week for the video shoot. He gave his sister another hug before she got into her car and drove away. She promised to ring him when she made it home safely.

Daryan had missed his sister. He never really told the other Gavinner's just how close him and Ava were. He had to keep up the tough-as-nails image, and knowing how the other guys were, he'd endure constant ribbing about talking to and hanging with his sister on a regular basis.

Daryan, to this day, rarely talked to his parents, especially with the band still being popular and his focusing his sole attention the Gavinner's success . There was a period during tours that Daryan would return home, and reconcile with his parents for the little time he was there. But as soon as he would leave again to go off somewhere else with the band, his parent's stubborn attitude would return and they would basically refuse to acknowledge him.

It was rough on Daryan, seeing his older sister being the golden child with the Crescend's impossibly high standards. Ava excelled at everything she did, and although he never resented her in the least for it, it still stung that his parents never fully supported his love of music and being a part of the Gavinner's, even after seven years.

But at the same time, it was taxing on Ava to keep up with the incredibly high expectations that their parents had placed on her once Daryan started to become more rebellious. Her parents expected nothing less than perfection from her. Daryan was her refuge from the hovering eye of their mother and father. She would hide out in his room, they'd lock the door so they could get a couple hours away from their parents.

The two siblings provided each other with the escape, relief, encouragement, and company that the other so desperately needed. Even now that they were in their late twenties, they still relied on each other the same way they did when they were seventeen.

Ava didn't know what she'd do if she ever lost her brother.

Author's Notes: Like I said up at the top, please review! Well the first section of the mini-fic is complete. Took a bit of time to get this right. I felt it was important to highlight how much Ava and Daryan have relied on each other through the course of their lives. I have a feeling people will think Daryan is slightly OOC, but I believe that he'd act differently around his sister than he would if he was goofing around with Gavinner's so I felt I did alright. Anybody agree or disagree? Obviously he's going to go to the Daryan we know once we get to the time of Turnabout Serenade. I already have this planned out with how everything will play out (since it's tying in to Love is Like Atroquinine) but if something thinks I could do something to improve the future chapters, either review here or shoot me a PM. (^_^)


	2. Chapter 2

The Sibling Bond

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or cases from Ace Attorney. All credits go to Capcom, the own the rights to everthing. This mini-fic is my own creation from my own original story, Love is Like Atroquinine. Both of the aforementioned stories are completely original and were created by me.

Reviews would be awesome, please and thank you. This is starting to pick up steam in my mind, and I'm excited to keep the momentum going. Really emotional, this story is going to be.

Ava pulled into her apartment complex in San Francisco and exhaled a tired sigh. Five hours was a long way to drive alone. The radio just wasn't enough of company when you watched boring highway mile after highway mile pass you by at seventy miles an hour. Ava parked the sedan in her numbered spot and locked it over her shoulder as she walked inside.

When Ava opened the front door to her apartment and dropped her keys in the bowl by the door, she eyed the treadmill in the living room in front of the television. She was tired from the long drive home, and really didn't feel like doing the two miles that she promised herself she would do after eating the pizza. But Ava knew she had to do the miles anyway. That was one of the prices she paid to become a professional model. You have to keep your fitness and activity level high and consistent. Yoga was no problem for Ava, as she enjoyed how relaxed she felt after doing a session.

Ava rounded the corner to her bedroom and pulled her cell phone out of her jacket pocket. She pushed Daryan's speed dial number and put it on speakerphone. As the phone rang once, twice, Ava got undressed and put on her workout clothes. Daryan picked up on the third ring. "Hey, you made it home alright?" Ava answered as she pulled the sports bra over her head. "Yeah I just got in a couple minutes ago. I would have made it home earlier, but 695 was a mess. Big accident had a lane shut down for a few miles." Daryan answered back. "As long as you weren't in that accident, that's fine."

Ava grabbed the phone off the dresser and walked into the kitchen to grab a water bottle. "Well I just called to tell you I'm home like you asked. I'll see you in a couple days Daryan." "Alright. Love you sis." Ava smiled. "Love you too, little bro." Ava hung up and tossed the phone onto the sofa. She wasn't expecting any more calls, but she kept it close by just in case.

Ava grudgingly went through her usual exercise routine. Half a mile at a slow walking pace to warm up, half a mile at a faster power-walking pace, half a mile at a quick jog, then another half mile at the slow walking pace to cool down. Ava stepped down from the treadmill, slightly out of breath. As her breathing returned to normal, she gulped down a few mouthfuls of water and changed the television settings so she could watch her yoga DVD.

The music coming from the television sounded like a tropical paradise, and the instructor's soothing voice had Ava calm and focused as she settled down on her purple yoga mat. Ava followed the instructor as they went from pose to pose. Downward Dog to stretch the back, Warrior to stretch the legs, Triangle for balance, and Dancer to increase flexibility.

A half hour later when the credits rolled on the DVD, Ava shut the television and all the lights she had left on, off, before entering the bathroom to grab a fast shower. Once she was done, Ava ignored her usual routine of blow drying her hair and putting in overnight conditioner and went straight to bed. She was exhausted and needed some rest. She would be doing a photo shoot for a magazine all day tomorrow.

The magazine shoot the next day went from ten in the morning until eight at night. She got a call from her agent while she was at the studio, telling her that she had booked her for a cameo in a soap opera. Ava agreed to the job, and her agent promised to call with more details regarding the role as they became available. When Ava entered her apartment that night, she was mentally and physically drained. She pushed through her workout routine once again, got a shower, didn't skip her nightly beauty routine like she did yesterday, then went to bed.

Two days later, Ava was making the drive back to Los Angeles for the Gavinner's video shoot. She navigated the streets easily and found the studio with time to spare. Ava spotted Daryan's midnight blue Viper in the lot and parked her sedan next to it.

She hadn't been here in probably half a year, as the Gavinner's had been on the European leg of their 'Guilty Love' tour. It was wrapping up in two weeks time, ending with a special concert with a singer from Borginia. Apparently Klavier met her while he was over there and had invited her to perform with the band.

Daryan had sent her a ticket for the show earlier that week, as Ava had found it in her stack of mail waiting for her on the dining room table. She had asked her neighbor to run to her P.O. box the day she was picking Daryan up from the airport.

Ava flashed her employee pass at the guard who was manning the front desk and he waved her back. Ava called Daryan to ask which studio room they'd be in. He told her to come to the second one down the hallway. She pushed the door open and was greeted by the entire band and crew.

Klavier came over and hugged Ava. "Fraulein Crescend, it's good to see you again. I'm glad you could be here for the latest shoot. I tried to convince one of my detective's to work on the video with us, but she thumped me and said 'Hell no.'" Ava gave a tinkling laugh and nudged Klavier's shoulder. "Ever the ladies man you are. Which detective of yours?" Klavier's face glazed over for a split second. "One of my newer detectives. Her name is Ema Skye. Fiery temper, but she's one of the precinct's finest. I keep trying to ask her out, but she continues to turn me down."

Daryan gave a laugh and slapped Klavier's back. "You're probably just losing your touch, Gavin. Give me a few minutes with her and I bet ya I could have her agreeing to go out with me." Klavier frowned. "Achtung! No chance in hell, Crescend. Fraulein Skye would eat you alive." Daryan laughed. "Ha, I'd be willing to bet you I could get her to say yes to me. Wanna bet on it?" Daryan held his hand out for Klavier to shake and agree to the bet. Klavier rolled his eyes and grasped his bandmates outstretched hand. "Fine. But if the Fraulein finds out about this, it was your idea. The usual stakes?" Daryan grinned and nodded. "Sounds good. I want a Telecaster next time. Haven't had one of those guitars in awhile."

Ava rolled her eyes at the boys antics. She pitied the detective that was becoming the center of the rocker's wager.

At that moment, the director clapped his hands for order. "Alright guys, let's get started. Dancers, go with the choreographer for half an hour and learn what you need to do. Guys, go sound check the instruments and get them ready. We'll start shooting in an hour!" Everyone disbanded to do their respective tasks and Ava waved to her brother as she joined the other four dancers, as they walked into the adjacent room to work with the choreographer. It was a fairly simple routine, and before long Ava had it memorized.

The shoot for this video was no different than the other three Ava had done before. Each of the band members (aside from the drummer) had a dancer assigned to them, Klavier having two. Ava was assigned to Daryan, naturally. They got the footage they needed after a couple takes. The director said he'd call them back if they needed anything else.

As the guys packed up their instruments, Ava walked over to Daryan. "Hey, you want to go out and do something? It's only two in the afternoon and I don't have anywhere to be tomorrow." Daryan inhaled a deep breath and shook his head. "Sorry, sis, but I got somewhere to be. Gotta meet someone up at three." Ava was surprised that he said no. Daryan usually took the entire day off from work when they had a Gavinner's shoot to do. "Who are you meeting up with? Someone with work?"

Daryan shook his head. "No." He didn't elaborate any more on the subject, just turned back to his guitar case. His phone rang and he glanced at the screen. Daryan walked off without excusing himself from Ava and she was baffled. "Um, okay just walk away then."

Ava stood there and waited for Daryan to finish the call and return. She waited five minutes, then ten. Daryan still hadn't come back. Fifteen minutes passed, then Ava grew impatient and walked in the direction that Daryan left. He left his guitar case, so he'd have to come back.

She heard his voice grow louder as she walked further. She rounded a corner and saw Daryan on the phone with someone. She backed up a couple steps before he realized she was there and listened quietly.

"I don't care. You have to do it. Get ahold of one, and hold onto it for me. I'll be there in a week and a half, and I'll be coming back with Gavin and Lamirior. We'll take care of it then. Just make sure he doesn't know anything about this. If he finds out...No, it won't happen. I've covered the tracks too carefully. I-Alright, fine. I'll call you in a few days." Daryan hung up and Ava fled back down the hall before he discovered her hiding place.

When she re-entered the room, she stood in the same spot that he thought he left her in and pretended to be occupied with texting someone. Daryan came back a minute later and picked up his guitar case. He looked surprised to see his sister still standing there. "Why are you still here? Thought you would have bailed by now." Ava shook her head. "I figured I'd wait. We always walk out together." Daryan shrugged and strode wordlessly toward the entrance of the building.

The director momentarily stopped Ava to give her her paycheck for the day. Ava thanked him and rushed to catch up with her brother, who ignored the fact that she had stopped.

Ava followed her brother out, confused as to why he was being so distant. She and Daryan always had something to talk about, but this was bordering on awkward silence. Her brother looked distracted and deep in thought about something that he apparently didn't want to relay to his sister. As they reached their cars, Daryan slid the guitar case into the backseat of his car and turned to face Ava. He embraced his older sister, but still said nothing.

There were too many thoughts running through his mind to be talking about anything to her. If he started talking now, he'd run the risk of telling her everything. There was no way he was bringing Ava into this. No way in hell he'd put her in danger.

"I'll call you when I get in, like usual." Daryan gave a single nod. "Or text me, either one is fine. I'll talk to you later, sis." Daryan got into his Viper, started the engine, and sped off without another word. Ava was baffled by her brother's behavior. Something was bugging him. Ava hesitantly shrugged and got into her own car. "He'll tell me eventually. He always does."

Ava stopped off at a Starbucks to grab a skim, iced caramel latte for the road. No sense on trying to make the drive with no caffeine in her system. As she pulled out of the drive-through, she looked both ways to make sure a left turn was safe.

She swore that a block up the street she saw Daryan's car pull into the back parking lot of a shifty looking building. She glimpsed it so quickly, she chalked it up to a figment of her imagination. This was Los Angeles, where every other person drove a BMW, a Ferrari, a Mustang, or the like. A Viper was hardly an uncommon vehicle of choice.

Ava pulled off in the direction of 695 to begin another five hour journey home. As she saw the familiar streets of Los Angeles become a blip in her rear view mirror, she sighed in frustration and wistfulness. She almost wished she could move out of San Francisco. But that was where her agent was located at, and as a result, where most of her modeling and acting jobs took place. Otherwise she'd have been in Los Angeles in a heartbeat. It would certainly be easier on her if her brother wasn't half a day's drive away.

Ava called Daryan to tell him she made it home, like she usually did. Daryan answered the phone on the fifth ring, and gave his sister only monosyllabic answers. He almost sounded like he was talking to a stranger. Ava told her brother she loved him with a bit more emphasis this time, hoping to break him out of his stupor, but he simply said "Love you too, sis" and hung up.

She hoped everything was okay with him. She knew if he was in any kind of trouble, he'd ask her for help. He knew that she was there for him whenever he needed her. She was his older sister, his confidant, and his friend.

For the next few days, Ava was busy with her acting job on the soap opera. It was a hospital drama, and she was playing a patient who died at the end of the episode. The filming for the hour long episode spanned four days, so it gave Ava something to think about other than her brother's out of character behavior.

In the next week and a half, Ava talked to Daryan once. Normally they would talk three or four times a week whenever he was in town, but her phone remained silent the entire weekend and the following week. She texted him several times asking if he was alright, but he never replied to any of them. When she did manage to get a single call through to him, he seemed a bit more cheerful, but still preoccupied.

This was not the laid-back and talkative Daryan Crescend that Ava had known her whole life. Something had changed in him, and she had no idea what.

The phone call she overheard at the studio still bothered her. Who was Daryan talking to? Where was this mystery caller at? Who were they trying to keep their plan a secret from, and why? What was so top-secret that they had to 'cover the tracks'? Ava didn't have an answer to any of those questions. Daryan usually had to keep quiet about his work in International Affairs, for security purposes, so he seldom told Ava details about a case he was working on. This especially kept her in the dark about any reason as to why he was acting so odd.

The days drew near to the finale of the 'Guilty Love' tour, and Ava was getting more excited to see her brother play live again. It had been over six months since she'd seen him perform at a concert. Despite the growing number of Gavinner's concerts Ava had been to over the years, she never got tired of them. The boys always changed up the sets and the setlist from venue to venue, in order to keep it fresh for the fans. This concert would be especially memorable, as they were having a guest singer during the show, the Borginian singer Lamirior.

The day of the concert, Ava was picking an outfit to wear and how she wanted to do her hair. For rock concerts like the Gavinner's, Ava always stepped her look up a notch and looked like a real model. She texted her brother telling him she was excited to see the band play again, and that she wanted to see him between one of the sets or after the concert. Surprisingly, he texted back immediately agreeing to her suggestion and that he'd let her know closer to show time when they could meet up.

Ava beamed as she read her brother's message. This sounded more like the Daryan she knew.

How wrong she was.

Author's Notes: Well, we all can guess where I'm going with this story now. We know we are officially at the day of Turnabout Serenade, and what is going to happen tonight. But how does everything that we know happen backstage affect the people that weren't in the picture? How is Ava going to be affected when she is broken the news of Daryan's actions and the consequences of what is revealed? It's going to be rough, that's for sure. Reviews are gratefully accepted, so I hope to hear from some people!


	3. Chapter 3

The Sibling Bond

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or cases from Ace Attorney. All credits go to Capcom, they own the rights to everything. This mini-fic is my own creation from my own original story, Love is Like Atroquinine. Both of the aforementioned stories are completely original and were created by me.

*I'm sure that anyone reading this is probably someone who has played and finished Apollo Justice, but if you haven't, I will give you all fair warning that this chapter contains serious spoilers from case 3 (Turnabout Serenade). So if you haven't finished the game, I highly recommend you do so before reading this, so that you can fully understand what I'm talking about here and won't be confused about any in-game references I make. Happy reading!

Ava pulled around the Sunshine Colosseum parking lot and waited for the hoards of teenage girls to clear out of the aisle. She had been searching for a parking spot for twenty minutes now, and it looked like she'd be settling for the far end of the lot if she wanted to find anything. She finally pulled into a spot and sighed in irritation. Driving in Los Angeles was one of the things she didn't like about the city. There was always a traffic jam or a roadblock or construction. And being at a Gavinner's concert in the heart of L.A. made it no easier.

Ava threw her car keys into her clutch purse and checked her cell phone. There was an unread text from her brother. He sent it while she was circling the lot. It told her to come backstage between the first and second set. That would be the only time he could bring her back, show her around, and hang out. The time between sets would be 20 minutes each. He also told her to remember the VIP lanyard to wear so the backstage security wouldn't give her a hard time. Ava shrugged. She didn't remember there being backstage security last time. She guessed it was because this was the last stop in the Guily Love tour and fans would be especially rabid about seeing the rockers.

Ava made the long trek up to Colosseum and flashed her ticket as she made it to the entrance. She dealt with the usual bag check at the entrance as well. Not that there was much for the guards to check, as the only few things that were in her clutch was her cell phone, a tube of lip gloss, a comb, some cash, and her ID. She made it through quickly and headed toward her section of the stands. She had excellent seats, thanks to her obvious connections with the band. She was only a few rows from the front, and had a stellar view of the entire stage. The only downside was the constant squealing on any side of Ava.

Hoards of rabid, obsessed fangirls who were practically vibrating with excitement over seeing the world famous band. Chattering nonstop about the band. Ava rolled her eyes at the all the fangirl's behavior. They probably wouldn't be as crazy if they knew that the band members were actually incredibly down to earth and subdued, much different than the personalities they had while they were on stage performing.

As the few minutes before the concert started wrapped up, Ava tapped away on her phone, discussing another role with her agent. This time for a commercial for a shampoo and conditioner. Ava sighed. It wasn't the big league acting roles she wanted to pursue, but she had to pay her dues and climb up the ladder. She had only been in the modeling and acting business for a little over two years.

All of a sudden, the lights dimmed and the eardrum shattering screaming began. Klavier and Daryan ran out onto the stage, followed by the guitarist, bassist, and drummer. They all took their positions and immediately started the concert off with a bang. One of their smash hits, Atroquinine My Love started off the concert.

Very soon, Ava was getting pumped up watching the guys tear up the stage like they usually do. She was bouncing to the beat, and singing along at the top of her lungs. Since it was so loud in the stadium, she didn't have to worry about anyone hearing her terrible voice. The first set was over before she knew it, and as soon as she realized it was her time to go back, she rushed toward the backstage hallway to meet her brother. Daryan gave her things to look for so she knew where to go. This would only be the second time she had been backstage. The first time was six years ago, when the Gavinner's played one of their biggest venues to date, when they were stars on the rise.

She passed various crew members who ignored her, whether or not because they were preoccupied with their jobs, or because they say her VIP tag and knew she was someone who belonged there, she didn't know. She passed a woman in a white lab coat who was staring at the ceiling, munching on some chocolate snacks she had in a bag and grumbling something about "Complete and utter bullshit that she was stuck here..." Ava had no idea who she was and what she was supposed to be doing, but she also didn't want to waste any time that she could be spending with her brother. She hoped hanging with him tonight would bring him out of the weird funk he'd been in for the past couple weeks.

She walked down a hallway with two doors at the end, which she presumed to be dressing rooms. The last door had a sign on it that read 'Gavinners Dressing Room', so she knew she had found her destination. She knocked on the door and opened it a crack. Klavier turned around and smiled when he saw Ava poking her head through the door. "Fraulein Crescend! Glad you made it backstage." Klavier came over and hugged his bandmates sister. "The last I saw Daryan, he was walking toward the exit door at the end of the hallway. Looked rather nervous, did you know anything about it?"

Ava shook her head. "I was hoping to ask you. He's been acting really strange lately. He won't hardly talk to me, and when he did he seemed really preoccupied. I was hoping he would be in a good mood tonight. I'll see if I can track him down. I'm kind of annoyed he isn't waiting for me. He told me this break was the only time I could come backstage and see him. Any chance I could maybe come backstage again after the show?"

Klavier shrugged and nodded. "Ja, that should be fine." Ava nodded and turned back toward the door. She had 15 minutes to find her brother and talk to him. She walked even further down the hallway and passed a giant of a man with a lumberjack style beard and a headset in his ear. She shrunk back as she passed him. She'd never seen a man that tall and muscular before.

Daryan would probably joke that the man could snap her in half with one hand. He was constantly ragging on Ava for being so conscious of her weight. He worried about her eating habits, but she always placated him enough that he would relax and back off. Ava usually stayed between a size two and size four, which for her height, was healthy.

She pushed the heavy door open and saw Daryan standing about five feet away from the door, leaning against the outside brick wall. He was staring up at the sky. "Hey little bro, recognize me?" Daryan looked over at her, and she had to actually duck out of the way to avoid getting hit by his hair. She would never understand how he managed to style it in such a peculiar manner. She had a feeling that hairspray and styling gel stocks would go down a few points when the band eventually disbanded and he no longer needed to fix his hair like that.

"Course I recognize you. Last time I checked, you're still my sister who hasn't changed in the...two weeks since I last saw you." Daryan laughed, but Ava didn't join in like she normally would. She crossed her arms and gave her brother a serious look.

"I wasn't joking, Daryan. You've been acting really odd to me lately, as if you didn't want to talk to your own sister. I talked to you once in the past two weeks. Once. We talk twice a week, and that's only if we're both swamped with work. What's up? Is something going on at work that's making you like this?"

Ava took another step closer to her brother and mirrored his leaning position. She looked up and met his steel grey eyes. They were hard as rocks, betraying no emotion.

Daryan looked back up at the sky, then back down at his older sister. He couldn't tell her what was supposed to happen tonight. Revealing it now would only jinx his plan. And there was no way he could tell her who he was dealing with. It would only put her in danger just because she'd know. Just a few more hours, his well planned out arrangement would proceed smoothly, he would do the hand off in a matter of days, then he could get on with his life. He would feel a lot better when this was behind him.

He shook his head and lied. "Nothing's up. Just been winding down, with the tour finishing tonight. Hard to imagine being idle for a couple months, or whenever Gavin drags us out for another cross-country stint. The video looks awesome by the way, remind me to shoot you a copy of the footage. I know you like to keep records of all your jobs. Anything new with you?"

Ava hesitated. She wasn't convinced that he was telling her the whole truth. Her hunch that he was keeping something from her deepened. But he seemed to be taking an interest in her again, something that he hadn't done in weeks. She wanted to press him further, but she knew she was pressed for time. They had been out here for awhile, and she was surprised Klavier hadn't come out to drag Daryan back to the stage.

She lifted her hand and rested it on her brother's arm. "I know I tell you this all the time, but I'm here for you if you need me. I know something has been bothering you, and as much as I wish you'd tell me what's going on, you obviously want to keep it a secret. Just know that you're not alone." Ava gave her brother a quick hug and walked the few steps to the door to open it. Daryan gave no indication of moving, so she simply frowned, waved, and told her younger brother she loved him. She thought she heard him murmur "Love you too, sis" but she couldn't be sure. She made it down the length of the hallway and turned around again to see Daryan opening the door and coming face-to-face with the enormous man she saw earlier.

They appeared to be staring each other down, despite the fact that this man had at least two inches on Daryan's six foot frame. There seemed to be some serious tension between the two men, but it's not like Ava knew anything about the situation.

She had no idea about the truth behind that man's identity, what his true motives were for being in the country, and that she would be one of the last people to see this man alive tonight.

Ava made her way back to her seat, which was thankfully still unoccupied. She was afraid some fangirls were going to take it over while she was gone, given it's prime location.

The second set went off without a hitch, but she was perplexed when Klavier gave Daryan a scathing look in the middle of 'Guilty Love'. Something must have happened to make the vocalist angry, but given Ava's inability to distinguish guitar pitches, she didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. But she could deduce that Daryan must have played an off note or something. Daryan told her that Klavier was an absolute sticker for perfection during performances, and would often go off on rants afterwards when one of the band members played something incorrectly.

The third set was absolutely beautiful. The Borginian singer, Lamiroir, was absolutely astounding with her vocal range. From what she heard girls whispering around her, this woman was known for being an amazing singer. Apparently her nickname was 'The Siren of the Ballad'. The illusion that she and Klavier pulled off up on the high rise platform was also incredible. Ava couldn't believe her eyes when she watched the woman seem to disappear off the stage, to reappear on the other side of the stadium on another high rise platform, seemingly out of nowhere. But when she heard a collective gasp from the audience, she glanced back up at where Klavier was standing and saw his guitar on fire, with him furiously trying to put the small flames out. As the platform lowered back to ground level, she saw the guitar charred very badly around the edges and seemed almost unrecognizable. Klavier had a disgruntled and disgusted look on his face. She assumed that the guitar bursting into flames was intentional, to synch with the lyrics of the song, but judging by the thunderous look on the rockstar's eyes, that was not the case.

Daryan and the other two members of the band were not onstage for the third set of the show, so she couldn't look at any of them to see if they were surprised by what went on during the duet.

As Lamiroir made her way back to the stage and took the arm of her accompanying piano player, they took a long bow before the applause of the thousands of fans who had been awed by the performance they just witnessed.

The other three Gavinner's also came onstage to wave off all their fans who came out for the final performance in the tour. The screaming from the fans didn't subside for several more minutes, but the sounds coming from outside the stage were muffled when Ava attempted to go back the same way she did earlier that evening.

When she tried to round the corner that led to the hallway with the dressing rooms, she was stopped by a blockade of both physical barriers and policemen.

Ava walked over to one of the cops standing guard at the imposed perimeter. "Um, what's going on? Why can't I go backstage?" The officer shook his head vehemently. "Sorry miss, but no one's allowed back here. Gavin's orders." Ava's brow furrowed in confusion. "I talked to Klavier earlier this evening, he gave me permission to come backstage after the concert." Ava waved her VIP lanyard in annoyance. "I'm not just some rabid fangirl trying to get a glimpse of the guys. I'm Daryan Crescend's sister."

The cop shook his head again. "I'm real sorry miss, but Gavin has given a gag order to everyone here. No one is allowed access to the backstage unless you are pertaining to the investigation. I'm not allowed to even disclose what happened. Prosecutor Gavin would have my job if I did."

Ava's brow furrowed even further. If Klavier was being referred to as Prosecutor Gavin, something bad must have happened while she was watching the concert. "Can you at least go get my brother? It's really urgent that I talk to him." The cop shook his head a third time. "I'm afraid I can't do that either. Detective Crescend is busy as well. Everyone backstage is currently held up with the investigation."

Ava huffed in annoyance. She knew it wasn't the officers fault that he was sworn to secrecy about whatever happened back there, but that didn't lessen the irritation she was feeling at the moment. "That's fine, I guess. If you see Detective Crescend, can you just tell him that his sister was looking for him and that she needs to talk to him as soon as possible? I'd appreciate that."

The police officer nodded for a change. "I will do my best to pass along the message." At that moment, the woman in the lab coat that Ava saw earlier rounded the corner with a young man dressed in a red suit. Rather odd way to dress for a rock concert, but Ava wasn't judging. This woman looked especially irritated about something, and her companion looked equally as stressed.

Ava turned on her heel and whipped her cell phone out of her purse. She rapidly typed out a message to Daryan, asking him what was going on. As she walked back toward the entrance of the Colosseum, her phone vibrated with an incoming text. It was Daryan.

"Can't tell you. Gavin's gag orders. Just stay at my apartment tonight. You still have a key to it right? I'll be back when I can, though I have no idea how long that will be." Ava sent back a quick reply. "Yeah I still have your spare key. Text me when you're leaving so I know to expect you." Daryan didn't answer back, so she assumed he was busy.

She dropped her car off with the valet at Daryan's apartment building, she went up to his floor and let herself in. The apartment seemed large and empty without her brother there. It was uncommon for her to be there without him there as well. She didn't typically come to Los Angeles unless it was to see her brother.

She walked down the hallway to the guest bedroom and dropped her stuff off on the dresser. She took off her heels and let her hair down. She walked into the adjacent bathroom and took her makeup off. Sleeping with mascara and eyeliner on was one of the worst things she could do for her eye complexion.

Ava pulled out a spare pair of pajamas she leaves over in case she ever stayed overnight. It had been years since she stayed overnight in Los Angeles and stayed here, but she liked to be prepared for any situation. She pulled the pajama shorts and t-shirt on, then slid into the plush bed. She laid in bed for what seemed like hours, staring at the wall, wondering what was going on.

Something bad had obviously happened during the concert. Something that forced Klavier to require police to keep the public out. Something that required absolute silence from all who were involved. She could only guess a trial would be involved.

She fell into an uncomfortable slumber, waking up several times that night, checking her phone, only to see her inbox empty. Ava woke up early, around nine in the morning. She sat up, knowing she wouldn't be dozing off anymore. She reached over to the bedside table to check her phone yet again. Still no messages.

Ava pushed the covers off and strode to the door. She hung a right to reach her brother's bedroom, and pushed open the door. His room was dark, and his bed empty. She turned on her heel to enter the living room. No one.

Daryan was out all night with whatever was going on at the Colosseum. She dialed his number, hoping he would pick up. He did, but sounded rushed. "Ava, I can't talk for long. I'll try and be out of here in an hour. Gavin's had us here all night, the son of a bitch. Tried leaving around three this morning, but he wouldn't let me. That detective of his kept throwing snacks at me whenever I tried to slip out and called me back. I tell you, that girl has Gavin wrapped around her little finger, even if she doesn't know it. He was following her around all night. Kind of funny actually. But anyway, I'll be back as soon as I can." Daryan hung up afterwards, not letting her get a last word in.

Ava shrugged and walked sleepily into the living room. She switched the television on, flipping from channel to channel. Only thing she could really do was just twiddle her thumbs until her brother came home.

She settled on a local news station that had a breaking news story flashing on the screen. To Ava's surprise, it was about what happened last night during the concert. Apparently the manager of the Borginian singer was shot and killed with a high caliber pistol. They had arrested a suspect, and the trial was set to convene tomorrow. Ava's jaw dropped open as the anchorwoman went on to give details of the murder suspect that was arrested last night.

It was the 14 year old pianist that played during Lamiroir's song. Machi Tobaye was apparently the only logical person that the police believed could be the murderer. Apparently, he had no alibi for the time of the murder and the only person who could have successfully fled the scene of the crime. According to what details have been released so far, a detective and a friend of Klavier's was standing right outside the dressing room as the murder occurred, and the only means of escape was a cooling vent in the ceiling.

Ava tried to make sense out of everything. Wasn't the pianist blind? And how could a little boy like that have the gun skills to shoot off a 45-caliber pistol twice and manage to land either shot on its target?

The news flash went away and went to a commercial. Her phone rang and she glanced at the screen. Daryan.

"Hey, are you on your way back?" Daryan sounded exhausted. "Yeah, I left a few minutes ago. Dictator Gavin finally let everyone go. Be back in like 20 minutes." Daryan again immediately hung up and Ava shrugged.

Ava changed back into her clothes from last night, then mindlessly watched television until Daryan walked through the door, with dark circles under his eyes and his hair falling around his shoulders. Obviously even the best hairspray couldn't hold forever. She tried to hold in a giggle at seeing her brother's hair in such disarray.

"Hey Daryan. I saw the news this morning about what happened. Pretty unbelievable, huh?" Daryan nodded and sat down next to Ava on the couch. "No kidding. Seems pretty straightforward, but Klavier's detective found a bunch of confusing evidence. I'm hoping K figures all this out soon. Should be an interesting trial to say the least."

Daryan hated himself for lying to his sister so blatantly. Hated lying to her in general. But she couldn't know the truth about what really happened in that dressing room during the concert. If all went as planned, his secret would stay dead and buried forever. Klavier would do his job, get the kid proven guilty, and everyone would move on with their lives. Including him.

He didn't know why he even got into the illegal business of the black market. He did have his reasons, but he never divulged them to anyone. No one was going to know why he chose to do what he did. No one would ever discover his secrets.

Not even his sister.

Daryan ran his fingers through his long black hair and yawned. "You mind if I go crash? Last night was on the level, and I need some sleep before the dictator calls me back for another round of investigating. Not that there's much more I can do to help." Ava nodded and they walked down the hallway in silence. Daryan gave his sister a hug before she walked out the front door.

"Do you want me to come back up for the trial?" Ava asked. Daryan shook his head vehemently. "No! That's not necessary." Ava's face scrunched at his outburst. "Okay then. I'll call you in a couple days." Daryan nodded and held the door open for his sister. Ava filed out in silence, and the door shutting behind her felt final somehow.

Like something was going to happen. Like she'd never be coming back to this place. She knew it was a ridiculous notion, but something in the back of her subconscious was telling her that it was the truth.

Two days later...

Ava watched the news coverage of the trial against Machi Tobaye. Much to everyone's surprise, Klavier's perfectly prepared case was blown out of proportion by this greenhorn defense attorney. He somehow managed to poke holes in Klavier's case and pull a lot of suspicion away from the pianist.

As the anchorwoman recapped all the details of the case, when Daryan's name was mentioned, Ava's attention perked.

"The trial adjourned on a shocking note today, when the Borginian singer Lamiroir pointed a finger of suspicion at Detective Daryan Crescend. She claimed that she overheard Crescend and LeTouse having a conversation during the third set of the Gavinner's concert, and hearing a loud noise in the dressing room. Crescend, who was previously involved with the investigation alongside Prosecutor Gavin, has been asked to step aside at Gavin's request. Crescend will be put as an on-hold witness for the remainder of the trial. More details to come as the story unfolds."

Ava's mouth could have been used as a flycatcher as she comprehended what she just heard.

Daryan was now a person of interest in the murder of Romein LeTouse. Because of what this Lamiroir claimed to have heard. "Daryan can't possibly have anything to do with this. It's ridiculous."

Ava shook her head. It was impossible. She refused to believe her younger brother could have a hand in this man's murder. No possible way.

Ava called Daryan's cell phone. No answer. She tried once every hour for the remainder of the day. He didn't answer his phone a single time.

Two days later...

Ava had gotten back from a workout at the gym, and settled down on her couch with a bowl of granola cereal. She flipped the news on to see if there was anything new about the concert trial. She still refused to believe her brother had anything to do with anything.

"And as the Gavinner's concert trial comes to an end, everyone in the courtroom is still in a collective shock. Machi Tobaye has been cleared of all the charges previously filed against him. Detective Daryan Crescend has been arrested and charged with the murder of Romein LeTouse, after confessing to the crime while on the stand. Prosecutor Klavier Gavin made a short statement after court adjourned, simply saying 'That he was in shock that something like this occurred, and couldn't be more disappointed with the turn of events during the trial. He is relieved that an innocent person has been cleared up of any suspicion, but it couldn't be of more personal shock and loss that his band member took a different path in life than those of his rock star friend's.'"

Ava couldn't really remember much after that, just an incomprehensible blur of throwing clothes into a bag and running out the door. She dialed Klavier's number. If Daryan was really in jail, then he wouldn't have his cell phone. Klavier picked up after two rings.

"Hallo, Fraulein Crescend. I take it you saw the news, and that is why you are calling?" Klavier sounded like someone forty years his senior who had seen many burdens from life. Not a 24 year old man who was at the top of the world and in the prime of his life.

"Klavier, please please tell me this is some horrible prank or that I'm dreaming right now. My brother cannot seriously be in jail on murder charges. There is no possible way." Ava was struggling to contain her tears, both from shock and horror. Her little brother was in jail. For murder.

Ava's tears finally came through as she made a mad dash drive out of San Francisco. The drive to Los Angeles was a blur. A stressful, surreal blur. She had no idea of how she was going to tell their parents. Their parents were going to go ballistic when they found out.

When Ava saw the lights of Los Angeles, she dialed Klavier again. This time he didn't pick up, so she left a message for him saying she was back in L.A for an undetermined period of time, and that she was going to see her brother. She assumed he would be at the Los Angeles penitentiary. Ava had to pull over

to look up directions to even get to the detention center. She'd never been there before, and wasn't entirely sure how to get there.

She followed the turn-by-turn directions on her phone and pulled into the detention center parking lot. Ava's chin wobbled as a million questions ran through her head.

Why did Daryan do this? Why did he kill this man? For what reason did he do any of this? What did he do that drove him to commit murder? What secrets has he been hiding from her? How long has he been keeping these secrets from her? As early as the music video shoot? Even before that? How much would he divulge to her, now that he had already confessed? Would he tell her anything?

Ava couldn't even comprehend what was going through her brothers mind when he decided to kill in cold blood. She knew she didn't know all the facts just yet, but she was going to get information today, whether Daryan liked it or not.

Ava walked into the penitentiary and steeled herself to see her brother in a prison jumpsuit.

Author's Notes: Reviews and feedback would be wonderful. Poor Ava! Finding out that her brother just got arrested, I can't imagine what was going through her head during that long drive to L.A. Does anybody think Daryan is going to tell his sister the truth? Or is he going to take his secrets to his grave? We'll be moving onto the events in LILA in the next two chapters, so it should be familiar for my regular readers. Chapters here are becoming longer than I intended, so expect the next one to be long, and probably the longest, as a lot is going to happen. Can't believe I'm halfway done with this mini-fic already, oh how time flies :)


	4. Chapter 4

The Sibling Bond

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or cases from Ace Attorney. All credits go to Capcom, they own the rights to everything. This story was created for my original fanfic, Love is Like Atroquinine. Both are completely original and were created by me.

Ava was escorted by a guard to her brother's holding cell. He unlocked the cell door and held it aside for Ava. He told her that he'd be right next door if she needed him. She told him that wouldn't be necessary, it was her brother. The guard looked slightly skeptical but nonetheless walked away wordlessly.

Daryan was laying on his back, his eyes closed and his hair splayed around him. He lifted his head to see who entered, but groaned internally when he saw it was his sister. He should have known she'd be here within hours of him getting incarcerated. "Why are you here, Ava?"

Ava sat down by her brother's feet. "Answers. I wondered why you had been acting so abnormally the past month, but I never would have guessed that you were involved in the black market and murder. Daryan, why? Why did you do this? You had everything a person could possibly want in life. What was so important that you risked it all for something that seems so stupid?"

Daryan sat up and buried his face in his hands. "I can't tell you."

Ava's eyes widened. "What do you mean you can't tell me? You're my brother, we tell each other everything!" Daryan shook his head. "Not this time, I'm not. This is my burden to bear, and I'm not going to put you in danger by telling you anything."

Ava shifted closer and tried to put her hand on her brother's shoulder, but he shook her off and scooted away. He didn't want her comfort. He didn't want her touching him. He was in enough pain as it is, without her trying to be there for him. This was his pain to bear alone, never to let someone in. It didn't matter how badly he wanted to confide in his sister the entire dirty deal he concocted up. She would never know who he was dealing with, and what the stipulations of the exchange were. He knew she had absolutely no ties to the black market, so she'd never be able to track down any of his associates.

"Don't touch me. I didn't want you to come here, Ava. I didn't want you seeing me like this, in my darkest hour. I lost everything. It's all screwed up. Nothing went how it was supposed to. It fell upon me to do the last resort action, and I did it. Gavin was just the unlucky recipient in a part of my actions for this transaction. He had the unfortunate role to play in uncovering all my shady dealings. Him and that stupid attorney with the crazy ass hair."

As much of a bad mood she was in, Daryan making fun of someone else's hair was rather funny. He was in no position to be criticizing someone else's choice of hairstyle. She struggled to contain a laugh and Daryan looked at her in confusion.

"This isn't funny Ava. My whole life is messed up now, all because of one thing that went slightly wrong. I'm probably going to be in here for the rest of my life, if I don't get whacked by my accomplice or get the chair first."

Ava's jaw dropped open and her eyes teared up as she imagined her brother dying. Her jaw wobbled and Daryan realized he seriously upset her. "Ava, as harsh as it is, it's the truth. I could very well die over this. God knows my associates for this deal wouldn't mind seeing me dead, as badly as I screwed everything up and almost exposed their involvement with the cocoon smuggling. They don't want an international battle on their hands, and killing me would just wipe away any remaining connections to this deal."

Ava shook her head and choked back a sob. She wouldn't let that happen. She would never live to see her little brother die by anyone's hands. She would do anything in her power to prevent that from happening. She'd enlist everyone with ties to law enforcement she knew and have them do something, anything to keep her brother alive, even if it was in jail for the rest of his life. She would talk to Klavier first.

Then Ava's mind focused on the man who got her brother locked up in the first place. Klavier Gavin, the prosecutor. She let out a growl of rage and even Daryan looked momentarily worried. Ava rarely got visibly angry, and now she had her fists balled up and her teeth were clenched. "This is all his fault. If he had just kept his mouth shut and let the other person take the fall, you wouldn't be here right now. Damn you, Klavier!"

Daryan put a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Ava, don't blame K. I don't. He was just doing his job. Klavier and I devoted ourselves to ridding the world of crime, and he was sticking by that promise. If he had known in advance that it boiled down to saving his best friend or getting a murderous criminal off the street, he would choose the latter any day. No questions asked. He'll deal with the betrayal and move on. He's got that little detective of his always at his side. She'll help him get over everything."

Ava shook her head. She didn't care what Daryan said. Klavier should have stuck by his friend and gotten him off. The Gavinner's would be in trouble without her brother. Klavier and Daryan were the frontrunners of the band, and without the lead guitarist by his side, Klavier would be lost.

She'd never forgive Klavier for ruining both their lives. Her brother would spend the rest of his days behind bars, and she'd spend the rest of her life without her best friend. It was hard enough to see him with the five hour travel between them, and with her now being the only one able to go anywhere, it'd be next to impossible. She could only talk to him if she was physically at the penitentiary, and it'd be awhile before he'd earn any luxuries, like Internet usage, if he even got any.

It would be as if he didn't exist from now on. That was going to be a lonely way for Ava to continue her life, but now she didn't have a choice. She still had to secure her brother's future. She would rather see him behind bars until he died of old age than be killed by this mystery accomplice on the outside. She had other connections to the legal world besides her brother and Klavier.

Daryan saw the determined look on his sister's face as she was lost deep in thought, and didn't need to guess what she was thinking. "My trial probably won't be for a few months, but there's no point in trying to change anything. The evidence against me is irreversible. Nothing can help me. I've dug my own grave with this Ava. Just go home and live your life. I don't want you to think of me like this. And sis, do me a favor and take care of my stuff. Not like I'm gonna need it anymore."

Ava managed to maintain a straight and hardened face while she gave her brother's hand a squeeze. She wouldn't be able to suffer through hugging him, even if she wanted to do that and never let go. He was the person she was closest to above everyone else, and she had lost him. And she'd never know exactly why.

The drive home was even more of a surreal blur than the drive to the city. Klavier called her several times on her way home, leaving messages asking what she was going to do. She didn't answer any of the calls, or return any of his voicemails.

The next week was mundane for Ava. She called her agent and told her to cancel all her jobs for the next week, as she would not be doing anything. She spent several days on the phone, arranging an attorney for her brother when he went to trial, and getting his apartment squared away. He had all his belongings that he would no longer be needing. She hired movers to deliver several specific items Daryan had in his posession to her apartment.

Some of the music albums that her and Daryan listened to when they were locked away in his room for hours, hiding from their parents. Several photos of Daryan and Ava when they were little, so young and innocent, and so unaware of how their lives would turn out. And finally the first guitar Daryan ever owned. He had stashed away money away for months after his fifteenth birthday to sneak down to the music store and buy an electric guitar. It was a lower end model, all he could afford at the time, but Daryan kept it all these years, no matter how many instruments he acquired during his years with the band. The rest of Daryan's possessions went into a storage for now. She'd deal with it eventually.

When Ava heard the official news that the Gavinner's had broken up, she wasn't surprised. The band suffered serious damage when it lost one of its founding members, and without the guitarist, the other rockers felt the band would never be the same. Klavier tried for several weeks to get in touch with Ava, but she constantly ignored every outlet he attempted to talk to her through. She still held a grudge against him for being the one who exposed her brother to the world and got him incarcerated.

Eventually Ava went back to work, requesting that her agent look more actively for acting roles. Ava was tired of the modeling world and needed to aim for more steady paychecks.

Two months later...

Ava's cell phone rang yet again with a call. Klavier had been persistent about talking to her, and she was tired of avoiding him. She was still mad at him, petty as it sounded, but she was.

Life without her brother was lonely. She missed seeing news about the Gavinner's on the entertainment channels, seeing his face flash across the screen and her feeling her chest swell with pride, talking to her brother regularly, and just hearing his voice. She had no one to crack their inside jokes with, or just jokes in general. All her friends were so serious and uptight most of the time, a joke was lost on them. It made Ava desperately wish for things to go back to the way they were.

Ava picked up her phone and saw Klavier's name flash across the screen. Sighing and finally giving in, she picked up the phone and stepped off the treadmill. "Wasn't expecting you to call. Especially after what happened. What do you want Klavier?" She was annoyed that she was even talking to him, but she was tired of trying to avoid him all the time.

"Ava, I need a favor of you. Is there any chance you can come back to Los Angeles for a week or two? I need help with something." Ava snorted. "Yes, let me do a favor for the man who put my brother behind bars. That's a no-brainer." She couldn't believe Klavier had the nerve to ask her a favor.

"Ava, just hear me out. I'm sorry for what happened to Daryan, but he did that to himself. I'm just as sorry to see Daryan go to jail for what he did as you are, I just had the unfortunate role in bringing everything to light in court. You're pretty much the only person I can turn to for this, so please."

Ava heard the apologetic tone in his voice, and saw he was really trying to reconcile. She knew he had to have been as blindsighted and betrayed by Daryan's actions as she was, and she hated to admit she was being immature about the situation. Ava had a change of heart and sighed heavily. "Fine, what is it that you need? I suppose I can take some time off and come up."

"Well there's this girl at work. She's been at the precinct with me for several months. You know how I am, I don't usually find myself interested in one woman for a long period of time. But there's something about her that has really intrigued me. I want to get to know her better, but she is so grumpy and irritable whenever I try to talk to her about anything. All she ever does is fling snacks at me and declare me a 'glimmerous fop'. I have a feeling that she does harbor some kind of attraction for me, but she won't let me inside her mind. I need some outside help to get an answer. If I'm right, then my plan can benefit everyone. And even if I'm wrong, everyone will walk away better off than they started."

Ava nodded. She was already concocting a plan in her head. If she was right in what she thought Klavier was implying, then she might be able to work it to her advantage. Klavier's connections to Daryan's upcoming trial would be invaluable. She had been in constant contact with the lawyer she hired to defend her brother, pointless as it was, but she was determined to see him live his life, even if it was carried out in the Los Angeles Penitentiary. "What exactly did you have in mind for me?"

"An acting job. Posing as my girlfriend. Ema may be smart as a whip scientifically, but she can also be naïve, and I'm going to hopefully use that to my advantage."

"Alright, I'll do it. But you owe me big time. And I think you can guess what I'm getting at." Ava waited to see how much Klavier interpreted from that sentence.

"Daryan. What is it you want me to do? I'll do whatever I can in my power as a prosecutor to get what you want."

Ava took a deep breath. "Secure my brother's future behind bars. I'll live with visiting him in jail for the rest of our natural lives, just spare me the torture of watching my brother get the electric chair. I have spoken with his lawyer, and with all the charges against him, a death sentence is more than likely to be what the prosecution wants. But not if his sister has anything to do with it."

"Ja, of course, Fraulein Ava. Again, my sincerest thanks. If you could be up here the day after tomorrow, and plan to stay for two weeks maximum, I'll get you whatever you need." Ava nodded. Her chest felt lighter after finally relenting and talking to her brother's friend, and also getting one step further in saving her brother.

Two days later...

Ava knocked on the office door and Klavier called for her to enter. As she walked through the door, she smoothed the top over her sides, hoping she looked alright. Klavier had specific instructions on how he wanted her to look, and she worked with what she had in her wardrobe. She wore her favorite white skinny jeans with a pink halter top and her highest wedge heels. She slept with her hair in curlers so that they would drape over her shoulders perfectly.

Klavier looked over her outfit and gave it a nod of approval. Excellent, you're here. You look perfect." Ava blushed from the compliment.

"Alright, what is it you wanted me to do?"

"Just act in the manner that a typical fangirl girlfriend of mine would behave, but mature at the same time. We're not teenagers anymore." Klavier and Ava both laughed. They both knew how everyone acted back when they were younger, much different from their present selves. "Just go with the flow according to how Fraulein Skye reacts. I imagine it will be between shock and jealousy."

Ava giggled. "You really like this woman don't you? I've never seen you go to such lengths to find out if someone simply likes you or not. Must be one hell of a woman." Klavier nodded. "Ja, she is."

Klavier dialed Ema's extension number. After four rings, Ema picked up. "What do you want fop? I'm working on the report from the last case, but I'll still be 20 minutes." Ema's voice was muffled, as if she had a mouthful of food. Klavier's voice was steady, comfortable, but still had a slight hint of flirtatiousness. Ava expected nothing else from him.

"Nein, that's fine. Just bring it up as soon as you're finished and then you can leave." Ema answered immediately and sounded happier than she did with the previous sentence. "Really? That's awesome, I needed to head over to Apollo's soon anyway."

Klavier's eyes narrowed and his lips pursed. "Ahh. Herr Forehead." He grumbled. Ava giggled quietly and mouthed "Who's Apollo?" and Klavier waved her off, indicating he'd explain later. "Just call me when you're on your way upstairs, Fraulein." Ema gave a monotone, one-word answer. "Yup." She immediately hung up.

Ava laughed and leaned toward Klavier. "So who is this Apollo person? And why are you so angry after her mention of him?" Klavier leaned back in his chair and grumbled. "Apollo is a defense attorney who I've seen a few times in court. Ema is friends with him, but lately I'm beginning to think that they have been seeing each other. If she starts seeing him...I don't know.." Klavier grumbled again and pulled the guitar propped up against his desk and strummed a few chords from 'Guilty Love' to distract himself. Ava placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. This plan should work if you really think this girl feels this way. I almost can't wait to see the look on her face.

At that moment, Klavier's office phone rang again, and Ema's extension number popped up. Ema simply said she was on her way up with his report, then hung up. With the call as her cue, Ava took her position on Klavier's lap. She saw in the corner of her eye Klavier eyeing her hair, then mentally shaking himself from whatever thought was crossing his mind.

Ema heard an unfamiliar giggle on the other side of the door and was shocked to see the fop with a beautiful woman perched on his lap. Ava purposefully clung to Klavier to gauge the detective's reaction to whatever she did. Ava watched Ema give her a once-over and have a self-loathing look cross her face. Ava was guessing Ema was intimidated by the designer outfit she had picked out for today's charade.

"Uhm, here is the report that you needed, Mr. Gavin." Ema kept her eyes on Ava the entire time, not knowing what to make of her presence."Thank you, Fraulein Detective. Oh sorry, this is Ava, my new girlfriend." Klavier took the report from Ema's outstretched hand and the detective's eyes were wide as saucers with that last statement. His emphasis on the word 'girlfriend' only made Ema's disappointment more obvious. Her face betrayed a combination of jealousy, sadness, and embarrassment. Ema stared at her feet as she contained her emotions to a stone-cold mask. "Hi, I'm Detective Ema Skye. I work with the fop-I mean Mr. Gavin."

Ava gave Klavier a big hug and buried her face in his neck. "Hi, so nice to meet you! Klavier has told me so much about you! I hear you're a scientist." Ema shook her head vehemently. "Oh no, I'm not an actual scientist. I'm just a detective who Mr. Gavin lets do forensic work occasionally. Actually, I forgot to tell you fop, I'm planning on taking my forensics certification exam again, so I may be a bit scarce for a couple weeks."

Klavier nodded. "Ja, that's fine Fraulein. Anything I can do to help you prepare?" Ema protested immediately. "NO...I mean um, thanks but no thanks. I have people lined up to help me out." Ema's eyes darted back and forth between Klavier and Ava like she was watching a tennis match. "I mean, that is, ah, I-I don't know!" Ema shouted and rushed out the door. In her haste, Ava watched her grab a bag of some snack out of her bag.

Ava looked down at Klavier and smirked widely. "Oh yeah, she's very upset by this. She coudn't have gotten out of here fast enough. So what do you have planned for her next?" Klavier shook his head and rubbed his chin. "Not sure, just hanging around here and seeing how she reacts. If I could keep you around for another week that would be great." Ava stood up and grabbed her purse. Right before she reached the door. "And remember, you will be called back on your favor when Daryan goes to trial. We talked about the stipulations of that."

Klavier nodded. "Of course, I would not go back on my word, and I will do everything in my power to get you your wish." Klavier walked over and gave Ava a farewell hug and promised to call her later with the next step of the plan.

Ava walked down to the parking lot wordlessly. As she unlocked the door and got in, her phone rang. It was her agent. All she had to report was she was working on getting her an appearance in a sitcom, and the chances of her getting the part were looking good. Ava thanked her agent and said she'd be in touch in a couple days. As Ava put her car in reverse, she saw the detective staring at her. Ava waved, but all Ema did was lift her hand and nothing more. Ava giggled to herself as she saw the green eyed jealousy monster run through the woman's veins. It was very obvious that Klavier's plan would go exactly how he wanted it to.

Over the next few days, as Klavier and Ava implemented his plan several more times, Ema's irritation and jealousy became even more and more prominent. Klavier and Ava would pretend to go out to lunch every single day, and he would walk her down to her car when she left in the afternoon. It was visibly obvious that Ava's presence grated on Ema's nerves, given the constant blush on her face and the way her eyes narrowed slightly whenever the two women made eye contact. But Klavier said it was time for one last show to gauge Ema's reaction to something a bit more radical.

One morning, when Ava came in, Klavier explained the final parts of the plan to her. They were going to kiss in front of Ema. And in a couple days, they would 'break up'. Ava knew she didn't have much time left to be staying here. Her agent had been persistent in trying to get her to return to San Francisco for more work, but Ava continued to hold her off.

Today Ava wore a yellow sundress and a different pair of wedge heels. Klavier did paperwork while they waited for Ema to give them their cue. She called Klavier's cell, but he purposefully didn't pick up. They knew that meant she was looking for him and would be up any time now.

Ava was already standing over by the bookcase that held all Klavier's guitars and Klavier walked over to join her. He stood right behind her and placed his hands on her waist, ready to move at a moments notice. They both waited in silence for the sound of Ema's footsteps. Her wedges made a distinctive noise when she walked. They heard someone coming down the hallway toward them, Klavier listened carefully and nodded once when he knew it was Ema. Not many other people stomped down the hallway at the precinct. Ava turned around slightly and Klavier leaned down to press his lips to hers. It was a slow kiss, nothing erotic, but had a little movement. Nothing over the top, but over the top enough to extract a gasp from Ema after she opened the door and discovered what they were doing.

They heard her footsteps retreat back down the hallway rapidly and they knew she was out of earshot. Klavier pulled away and smiled. "I must say Fraulein Ava, you know how to put on a performance. This whole week has been rather entertaining. Watching Ema go insane with jealousy was amusing to me. Every other time I've seen her she's been grouchy and bossy, but this emotional and scared Ema was quite a change."

Ava raised her eyebrows. "Is she really that bad? I mean, I know you tell me a lot how she can be rather irritable, but it is really how she is all the time? I mean is she never happy?"

Klavier shook his head. "Ja, she is like that most of the time. The only time she's not like that...is when she's doing her science. There is nothing more important to Ema than her science. She only took the detective's job in hopes of becoming a forensic scientist here eventually. When she's doing experiments, her eyes light up, her smile gets so wide it takes up her entire face, and her cheeks get this beautiful glow to them. That is the Ema I care about. I know she's like that when I'm not around. This charade we've done has certainly brought out a new side of Ema that I wasn't sure existed. But this has to be the final straw for her. I don't think she can take much more of what we're doing to her. I'm almost positive it was her that came in through the door, judging by the reaction we heard." Klavier mused.

Ema had been particularly hesitant about spending more time with Klavier than she had to, more so than usual, especially with the addition of Ava's presence and what Ema thought she was.

Neither of them heard Ema creep back down the hallway and stop right outside the door to overhear their current conversation.

"I heard the door open and a gasp. It could have only been her. You told everyone else to leave you alone until lunch. I didn't hear the door shut, but I heard her running down the hallway. You think she saw us? I'll bet her jaw about hit the ground in surprise." Ava laughed as she imagined the look on the detective's face when she saw the last little show they did.

Klavier nodded, then leaned back in his desk chair and grinned at Ava. "Ja, I imagine her face was a sight to be seen. I purposefully left her work from yesterday so that she would be up here as soon as she came in today. This has worked out even better than I had hoped, and it's all thanks to you Fraulein Ava. You have my deepest gratitude. I have my answer without a shadow of a doubt. And I believe it is almost time for our imminent breakup. I hope the Fraulein Detective will be pleased to hear of out 'separation'."

Ava nodded and flipped open her beeping cell phone. Yet another message from her agent that required quick attention. "Yes, I agree it would be hard to keep up the charade much longer. Your co-workers are beginning to become suspicious. Not to mention your boss has been on your case about my being here so frequently. And speaking of bosses, mine is pressuring me to return home. She probably wants me to go audition for another role soon. She claims I've been away for too long. I should have told her I was at an 'acting seminar' to improve my skills, which actually isn't far from the truth. Maybe it would have kept her at bay a little while longer. You know Daryan's trial is in four days right? You know what you have to do as part of our agreement?" Ava's thoughts turned to the business at hand. Daryan's trial was right around the corner, and Klavier needed to contact the necessary people and change what she needed him to change.

Ava found out talking to Daryan's lawyer that the prosecution was going to seek a death penalty, with the high count of violence related charges against her brother. It still made her tear up at the thought of her brother killing anyone. She just didn't understand it, and it cut her to the core. When she learned that they were going to seek the death penalty, Ava almost had a mental breakdown. When she broke the news to her parents, they were livid. They insisted Ava return home immediately and stay there. But she refused, and was back on no speaking terms with her parents. She tried to convince them to go and visit their son, but they refused.

So once again the Crescend family was split down the middle, with not much chance of blurring those lines.

She would never pretend to understand, or attempt to understand, what exactly was going through her brother's mind when he became an international smuggler, and then a cold blooded killer, while trying to pin the blame on someone else, and a child no less. Though she could never forgive what Daryan had done, nonetheless, he was her brother and she would bend over backwards to keep him around.

Klavier nodded and pulled out a few paper-clipped papers to show Ava. It had the official court documents for Daryan's trial. It had the prosecutor and defense attorney listed, as well as the judge and the people presiding in the jury. Klavier pointed to a specific name. "Ja, I know. They would not allow me to prosecute the case because of my relation to Daryan, but I have left a message for Herr Edgeworth, and I hope to convince him to push the original penalty they were going to seek against your brother. It's my hope to obtain a life sentence, and with the staggering evidence against him, including a confession, an acquittal is beyond unattainable at this point. I am with you on this Fraulein, I would rather see my best friend stay behind bars for the next seventy years then see him get executed."

Ava nodded. "I understand. Thank you for doing what you can to help my brother. I have to go now, Klavier. I promised my agent I would call her with an update regarding my return to San Francisco." Klavier looked around the room, and laughed when he realized something. "Ema forgot to leave the report I needed her to finish for me. I'll have to track her down." Ava smiled widely at Klavier and walked out the door. She walked down the empty hallway, not knowing she was about to get cross examined by one very upset detective.

As Ava entered the parking lot, she glanced at her latest text message from her agent, describing the next role she hoped to book Ava for. She didn't even see Ema standing next to her sedan until she was a few feet from her. "Hello, Detective Skye, wonderful to see you again! Klavier was actually looking for you, something about a report he needed." Ava pasted a smile on her face, playing up the role of cheery fangirl rock star girlfriend.

Ema wasn't buying it. She knew the truth now. She was done with acting strictly professional around this woman now that she knew the relationship was a charade. "Ava, I know about the stunt you and the fop pulled over on me. I heard everything and I want the truth." Ema raised her eyebrows expectantly and waited for Ava to respond.

Ava's mouth dropped open, as she never expected to hear Ema demanding a confession. She honestly believed that Klavier and her had been acting genuine enough and didn't anticipate the detective overhearing them discussing their secret. "Well since you know, I guess there's no point in denying anything. It's true, Klavier hired me to pose as his girlfriend so he could see how you would perceive the relationship, and act as a result. He was hoping to get a certain reaction out of you, and did he ever. I told Klavier the condition for my presence and he accepted my terms. We planned this to go on for no more than two weeks. I'm guessing you heard that we were planning to 'break up' soon, so I guess that's a moot point now, huh?"

Ema's eyebrows were so high on her forehead they practically disappeared into her hairline. "So this whole relationship was a fake? But why did you agree in the first place? If you're Daryan's sister, which I never knew he had so that set to shock me even more, I'd think you wouldn't have talked to Klavier, much less agree to help him." Ema looked confused.

All of a sudden, Ava's memory clicked and she realized she had met Ema before this whole weeklong incident. During the concert that started the mass chain of events, when Ava went backstage to see her brother, she had passed Ema in the hallway, but hadn't stopped to talk to her. She found it ironic that she had actually met someone she'd be interacting with a few months down the road.

"Yes, I'll admit I was reluctant at first. But Klavier apologized to me, even though technically it was hardly his fault. I just had a chip on my shoulder since it was my brother. I told Klavier that he had to secure Daryan's future, even if it was one behind bars, and he agreed immediately. He was too anxious to move things along between the two of you to negotiate anything different. He told me about the kiss between you two, that day, and pretty much everything he knows about you, I suppose. You do realize just how crazy this man is for you? And if I'm not mistaken, you feel the same way?"

Ema's eyebrows went up even further, if it was scientifically possible. She did a double take as she comprehended Ava's very last statement. "No, no you've got it wrong..." Ema trailed off as she realized how vague she sounded and could practically see the lying vibes coming off her body. Ava mashed her mouth in a hard line and nodded in a 'sure, sure' kind of way.

"Ema, listen to me. My instincts told me the second I met you officially that you have an intense desire for Klavier that you deny yourself far too much. It's pretty obvious to me that you hold your boss on a very different level than your colleagues. And the way you look into his eyes, I can tell you're thinking of something very specific when you do." Ava's brown eyes bore into Ema's green ones and Ema looked shocked that Ava got everything spot on, after only seeing her a couple days. Ema hung her head in surrender.

"You're right. I do have feelings for the fop, but I've been telling myself for awhile now that I'm crazy just for entertaining those kinds of desires and fantasies. Even since he kissed me in his office, the realization has been slowly coming to me. I can't believe you figured me out so easily. But for my sake, please don't repeat any of this conversation to him. If I ever consider thinking about telling him what I think, I want him to hear it from me, and not from someone else."

Ava nodded in agreement. That was something you wanted to tell someone in person, with them hearing it for the first time from you. Ava extended her hand to Ema, and when they met each other's eyes, a friendly connection was made. Now that everything was out in the open and Ema knew the truth, she no longer felt animosity toward the woman. She had no reason to.

"If I'm not being too forward, Detective Skye, I'd like to say that I think you and Klavier are an excellent match. He's going through a rough time right now, with his best friend ready to go to trial for murder, and his brother on death row, he could really use a friend. I think you could be that friend, and I think you also want more than just a friendship with him." Ava looked at Ema knowingly, and Ema blushed and fiddled with the bubblegum pink sunglasses sitting on the top of her head.

"I don't know exactly myself, but he seems to know what he wants. Do you care if I go talk to him right now? I think I need to hear it from the fop's mouth before I really believe it's all true." Ava nodded once again. "I wish you both nothing but the best, Ema." Ava raised her hand in farewell, got into her car, started the engine, and drove off.

She wanted to go visit her brother now. She had only gone to see him twice in the two months he had been in jail, and Ava wanted to see him one last time before the trial. Ava was shocked to see when she walked into his cell to see Daryan's hair, that used to hang down to the middle of his back, now barely grazed his shoulders. It was a sloppy cut job that was jagged and uneven. Ava guessed he did it during a moment of self-loathing.

Every time she tried to get him to open up and tell her everything, Daryan always refused. But Ava didn't want to give up hope that her brother would eventually open up to her.

As usual, Daryan told her nothing. The only thing would tell her is that she would be in danger if the people he had been involved with knew of her connection to him. They could use their sibling relationship as a reason to get him back for royally screwing up the plan. He knew they wouldn't bat an eye killing her for revenge. These people had been depending on him to securely bring them a Borginian cocoon, and he'd failed. His business partners had been livid that the deal had to fall through. For once Daryan was glad he had the safety of the penitentiary on his side. It was hard to murder someone in jail by the hands of someone on the outside.

Ava walked out of the penitentiary disheartened, and scared of how the trial would turn out. She never imagined in her twenty five years of knowing her brother that in a few days, she would be walking into a courtroom to see her brother sit in the defendant's chair, being charged for murder. The whole situation was absolutely heartbreaking. When she got back into her hotel room, tears of mental exhaustion and anguish came forward for the first time in awhile. Ava had a feeling that watching the trial would only bring on more tears, but she knew she had to go.

These past three months had been as difficult as the miserable four years she spent with her brother trying to avoid feeling the wrath of their parents. She almost wished she could transport herself back to those years, just because that was before everything happened.

But most importantly, because back then, her brother was still with her. They didn't have five hours and a holding cell separating them. Back when they were teenagers it was just ten feet, a wooden door, and a parent nagging them to go study separating them. She'd take that any day.

Author's Notes: Comments and reviews are gratefully accepted. This chapter was difficult just because I had to have 2 documents up at the same time so I could be sure that the story and dialogue was matching up perfectly with the events in Love is Like Atroquinine (although I did add a couple lines in here and there just so you could tell that this was from Ava's POV and not Ema's that we've seen before). The next chapter is going to be the last, I can't believe I'm even finishing up this story already. It's hard to believe that three short weeks ago this story didn't exist at all and wasn't even a figment of my imagination yet. I very much enjoyed writing this chapter because while these events happened in LILA, I was incredibly vague with them because we were watching everything from Ema's point of view, and not Ava's. Seeing it from someone else's perspective gave new dimension to the events, and made it more interesting. I laughed at finally giving what was said behind closed doors a voice, so to speak. It was fun, and I look forward to writing the final chapter of this mini-fic. I hope you guys have enjoyed it so far, and have found it interesting to the grand scheme of LILA. Final thoughts after I upload Chapter 5 would be fantastic.


	5. Chapter 5

The Sibling Bond

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or cases from Ace Attorney. All credits go to Capcom, they own the rights to everything. This mini-fic was created to tie in to my main story, Love is Like Atroquinine. Both stories are completely original and were created by me.

Ava pulled into the courtroom, grabbed her clutch, and sighed. Today was the day of Daryan's trial, and Ava would rather have her wisdom teeth pulled out conscious. Today she would be seeing her younger brother sitting in the defendant's chair, being charged with murder and smuggling. It was probably one of the toughest things she'd ever have to watch.

As Ava walked into the courtroom and found the proper lobby, she realized she had an extra twenty minutes. She was half-tempted to go find Daryan and his attorney Cecelia Yew, and speak with them before today started, but they were probably discussing the upcoming trial and she didn't want to disturb them. She just stood in the lobby, flipping through old e-mails on her phone until the gallery was open for spectators.

She walked up morosely and picked a seat facing the DA's bench. She wanted her brother to see her there, see that she was here for him, even today. As the defense and prosecution entered, Daryan right behind Cecelia, Ava teared up and reached for a tissue. Daryan looked like he'd aged ten years over the few months he'd been in prison. His hair, which used to be shiny and styled in a gravity defying manner, now hung limply around his shoulders, was obviously devoid of any grooming even from the distance between the gallery and the bench.

Ema suddenly appeared at Ava's side and she sat down to give the woman a hug. Ava's choked up at Ema's comfort and kindness. They barely knew each other, yet they had a unique connection.

During one of their previous conversations, Klavier told Ava that when Ema was 16, she had been in a similar situation that Ava found herself in now. He'd said that Ema's older sister Lana had been accused of murder, along with fabricating and concealing evidence. Lana was eventually found innocent of the murder charge, but Ava knew that was the difference between Ava and Ema, Daryan and Lana. Daryan was guilty. He'd confessed to his crimes months ago, and the prosecution had since gathered up a staggering amount of evidence against her brother. An acquittal was never happening. But Lana had been freed years ago and her record was now wiped clean.

Ema gave Ava's shoulder a squeeze then walked back to where Klavier was sitting on the other side of the gallery. The clock turned to 10 A.M. and the judge entered the courtroom and everyone rose.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Daryan Crescend, formally charged on the count of murder in the first degree, along with international smuggling of illegal contrabands. All may be seated. Is the defense and prosecution ready?" Both Cecelia and Miles nodded.

Ava had never met the famous prosecutor before, but she heard that he could be ruthless in court when he wanted to be. She hoped he wouldn't be too rough on her brother since his case was pretty airtight.

Ava had chosen Cecelia Yew as Daryan's DA because of her family's reputation. The Yew family had long been revered in the legal world, having members as both defense attorneys and prosecutors. The family was disgraced when it was revealed that the second youngest attorney in the family, Calisto Yew had been deeply involved with an international smuggling ring and was guilty of at least one murder, along with other lesser crimes. She had actually been in hiding for many years under a fake name, living under the name of Shih-na. But as soon as her niece Cecelia Yew passed her bar exam, she went straight to work to rebuild the family business and reputation. She had only been working on 'malum prohibitum' cases up until Daryan's trial, but she had been looking to expand her clientele and take on different cases. So Ava chose her because of the legendary ability of Yew attorney's and Cecelia accepted because Daryan needed a lawyer.

The prosecution gave their opening statements and presented his first pieces of evidence. The first witness to the stand was a forensic detective who had been in charge of the secondary investigation (after Machi Tobaye had been cleared of all charges), and Cecelia proceeded with her cross-examination.

Hard as she tried to defend her client, every one of Cecelia's counter arguments were immediately shot down by Miles fluidly and confidently, with no room for rebuttal. The prosecution truly had a 'perfect case' what with Daryan's earlier confession and the large amount of evidence. She had known it would have been a very long shot getting her client acquitted, but she tried anyway.

After forty minutes in the courtroom, the jurists took a short recess to deliberate and come to a verdict. The recess lasted twenty minutes, and when they came back, the decision was unanimous.

Daryan was found guilty on both charges and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

When Ava heard the verdict read, she cried from a combination of relief; from not hearing the words 'death penalty', disappointment; because a tiny part of her wanted to cling to the belief that he brother was innocent and would somehow be proven innocent, and sadness; because the reality that Daryan would be spending the rest of his natural life in prison meant she would seldom see him for upwards of fifty years.

As the spectators filed out of the courtroom, Ava made her way briskly to the defendant lobby that Daryan would be in. Cecelia was no where to be seen, but her brother was standing off to the side, staring off in the distance. She walked up to him, and his hands visibly tightened around his elbows.

"Hey." Ava said quietly.

"Hey." Daryan answered.

There wasn't much for the siblings to say at this point. Daryan would be going back to jail, and Ava would return to San Francisco.

"I don't know what to say at this point, Daryan. There's nothing really left to say. You still won't tell me anything will you?" Ava inquired imploringly. She wouldn't try to understand why her brother chose the path that he did, but she still wanted to know why.

Daryan shook his head. "I can never tell you. I'd be putting you in serious danger if you knew who was involved. I love you too much to do that to you. I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt because of me."

Ava snorted. "It's a little too late for that, Daryan. I got hurt the second I saw the news report saying you had been arrested. No scratch that, I was hurt the second you got involved with whoever these people are and you started ignoring me. You have no idea how much I missed you these past few months. The phone calls, the pizza dinners, just seeing you. You're my little brother, we've been through all kinds of shit together. We dealt with our parents, and all the crap they put us through, the silent treatments they've given us. I tried to get them to come see you, but they refused. They wanted me to come home and stay there, but I refused, and they've not spoken to me since."

Daryan mouth opened in surprise. They were giving their favorite child the cold shoulder now? "Ava, I'm sorry. I never wanted them to come up to see me anyway. As far as I'm concerned, they can both shove it after everything they've done to me over the years. But they shouldn't be treating you like that. I'm sorry."

Ava shrugged. She wasn't as upset about it as he thought. "Frankly, I donn't care too much either. But I still hate how our family has been split down the middle for ten years now. I wish they would have made the effort to at least try and reach out, even if it was unwanted by you. Now our family is split even further. It's our parents, me, and then you. That line was split between us months ago. I wish it hadn't Daryan, I really do."

Daryan wasn't surprised that his sister was a little mad at him. "I'm sorry, Ava. Sometimes I wish I could rewind the past four months and do them differently, but I also don't."

"That's another question you won't tell me. Why did you do any of this? You had an amazing life, and you chose to risk it all for a black market transaction that could have gotten you killed. Hell, it still can. You won't tell me why to that question either?"

Daryan shook his head. "This was my burden to bear. If I told you why, you're opinion of me would change forever."

"Will you ever tell me anything?" Ava asked.

Daryan looked hard at his sister, thinking ahead. "Maybe. Maybe many years from now, after my associates have moved on to other business transactions, and moved way beyond mine, maybe they'll let me slide and forget about me. Technically I'll have no way of knowing that for sure, but I imagine I'll be waiting for that opportunity for a decade or two. These people don't tend to forget easily." 

Ava's shoulders slumped. She'd be waiting many years to even have a hope of having her brother open up to her.

"I wish I could say I understand, but I don't. I suppose I probably never will."

Daryan unwound his arms from around himself and reached out to his sister. She hesitated, not sure if she wanted to touch her younger sibling. But she decided against her previous resolve and wrapped her arms around his waist. Daryan rested his chin on the top of her head. "I love you, sis, and that's why I can't say anything. You would be disappointed in me if you knew even half the truth. Your opinion means the world to me. There are very few people I was as close to as I was with you, and even they probably aren't too happy with me. I can't have another person disappointed with me."

Ava figured he had to be referring to his bandmates, most of all Klavier. She pulled away from the embrace to look up at him seriously. "Is Klavier that mad at you?"

Daryan shook his head. "He's let go of some of the resentment he had after the first trial, but he's still stinging from the overall betrayal. That is something else I regret above other things. I didn't want to hurt my best friend, but being in the band put him in a position to be automatically involved as a third party. It's just unfortunate that things did end up involving him like they did. He seemed alright with that detective of his with him. I recognize her from the last concert. She was the one who found LeTouse's body."

Ava nodded. "Ema. Yeah, they're kind of together. He's been working on winning her over. He actually got me in on his plan. I think those two will work out."

Daryan gave a half-smile. The least he could do for his friend was be happy for him. "That's cool."

The couple in question came into the defendant lobby at that moment. It was a simple exchange between the two former rock-stars, just a simple handshake and a goodbye. Ava waved to Klavier and Ema as they walked back out.

Ava looked at her watch and realized she'd need to check out of the hotel shortly, then return to San Francisco. Life was moving forward, and Ava had to do the same.

"I have to leave Daryan. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to come down and see you, but I'll try as much as I can." Ava told her brother. She couldn't promise certain times that she'd be able to see him, because she didn't know how things in her life would turn out. Her acting career might launch within the next month, or never go beyond what she's doing now.

"That's fine. Ava, don't make time to come up down and see me. I'll be in the same place for the rest of my life, and not a lot is gonna happen over there anyway. I'm not gonna have much to report when you do come down. But it would be nice to see you from time to time. Especially if something happens to you. Keep me posted on your life. I want to know everything that goes on with you. As much as you can tell me. As medieval as it is, I should be able to write you letters. It's better than nothing I suppose."

Ava nodded. "I'll talk to you, little brother. I love you."

Daryan pulled his sister into a final hug. "I love you too Ava."

Ava felt a bit of the heaviness that was in her chest lift away. It had been there ever since she first learned of Daryan's incarceration. Their lives may have radically changed and split apart, but at least they weren't parting on negative terms.

Ava walked outside and waved to her brother one last time. Cecelia, as well as two prison guards came up to escort Daryan back to the penitentiary. Although he was sad that he was going back to the bleak and despairing place that was jail, he broke the law, got caught and tried, and he now had to live out his sentence like a man. A honorable man would take his punishment with dignity, and that is exactly what he was doing. His only family member wasn't deserting him as a result of what he'd done, but was promising to stand by his side as if nothing changed.

Even if everything had changed. Forever.

The sibling bond is a powerful connection. The sibling bond is something that is eternal, given that people stick by each other through thick and thin. Siblings give each other comfort, advice, company, and friendship. Even if that bond is frayed by something like an argument, a move, or an incarceration, that doesn't mean it's gone forever. It remains, tried and true until the end.

Author's Notes: Well, I officially bring this, my second fan-fiction, to a close. I'm very happy with how everything turned out with the story. It wasn't easy making everything fit in perfectly with Love is Like Atroquinine, but I think I fleshed out the two main characters well and gave the story backgrounds and meaning. I hoped you guys thoroughly enjoyed my little mini-story. As a parting for The Sibling Bond, if you guys could give me a bit more detailed feedback regarding the story as a whole, I'd be very very grateful. Now that this is finished and Love is Like Atroquinine is almost complete, and two other stories are going to be started very soon, I'd like to know what people thought of this so I can take feedback from here and bring it into my future writing projects. I'm trying to improve my writing abilities so I can bring people stories to the best of my ability. Hope to hear from some people. Talk to you all soon! ^_^


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